Singletary rules out Smith, assumes Hill will play

I’m not in 49erland today – first day of school for the first-grader – but that’s not going to prevent me from cherry-picking some quotes, courtesy of the 49ers’ PR department.

Newly anointed starting quarterback Shaun Hill today threw just one pass during team drills before getting the hook. Singletary said Hill has a “sore lower back.” Later, it was clarified that it’s a low-back strain.

“It’ll be day-to-day,” Singletary said. “We’ll determine day-to-day and see if he’ll play in the game (Saturday against the Cowboys) or not.”

Will Damon Huard or Nate Davis to start against the Cowboys if Shaun Hill is unavailable?

“I don’t know,” Singletary said. “I’m assuming he’s going to play, but I don’t know that. So, I don’t even want to think about all the other stuff.”

Has Alex Smith been ruled out for the game?

“Yes,” Singletary answered.

Did something happen when Hill threw a pass today?

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Singletary said. “I just know that it showed up yesterday, pushed himself through practice, got some treatment yesterday. Today it was still there. He probably could have pushed himself through practice, but I told him, ‘You don’t need to do that. Let the other guys get the reps and let’s go.'”

Is he unsettled by Hill’s injury given that the third exhibition ame is important for preparation for the regular season?

“It’s not unsettling at all, not one bit,” Singletary said. “We’re going to go to Dallas and we’re going to play football. I’m not going to worry about who’s not ready to go and who’s hurt and all of those things. No. We’re going to go and we should execute just fine.”

Is Shaun Hill’s starting job a week-to-week thing?

“It’s not a week-to-week thing,” Singletary said. “He is our starter. What does that mean? I think it means that you say, ‘Here’s the ball. Here’s the offense. Here’s the ball. Here’s the offense. Let’s go. Don’t look over here when you make a mistake. Don’t look over here when you throw an interception, just know that everything we talked about this offseason – how we win football games – just do what we know we have to do in order to win football games.’ I don’t want him looking to the sidelines wondering if I’m going to take him out and put somebody – no. We’re not going to do that. That’s not fair to anyone.”

Is he committed to Hill more than he was last season after he was elevated to the starting job?